Christine Keller remembers the first time she drove past the Stevens Home on Bellmore Avenue.
"I loved the way that it was maintained and I always felt this connection to it," Keller said.
When she was told on Wednesday that the Town of Hempstead Landmarks Commission approved the landmarking of the home, she was enthralled.
"I am so happy," she said.
The final decision on whether the home will be landmarked will be made by the Hempstead Town Board in two to three months.
Keller, a Bellmore resident of 24 years, presented her case on why the house should be landmarked in February 2011.
She was given a chance by the commission at a Jan. 31 meeting to come up with recommendations of possible buyers who want preserve the home after the the trustee of the Stevens Home trust said that restoring the house would be too costly and that potential buyers want to demolish it.
At a Feb. 28 meeting, Keller told the commission that she found people who are interested in buying the home, including herself.
"We will help to facilitate the buyer of the home," she said.
The house, located at 2396 Bellmore Ave., was built by Charles Stevens, a local bayman, in 1923. Construction on the foundation of the home began in 1917.
"The first time I went inside the house I was amazed. It was like a time capsule of the 1920s," Keller said.
